Which tells eggmen more, cost or income?
ELIZABETHTOWN - Which is
most important when analyzing an
egg production and marketing
business cost or gross income
per dozen?
One could get involved in some
good arguments over the question
Some mil argue that cost is most
important and others will argue
that gross income is most im
portant.
Yet when one recalls discussions
at industry meetings over the
years, by far most of the discussion
centers around methods of
reducing costs. Very little time is
spent discussing increasing
revenue except in times of low
prices. Then volumes are written
in trade papers and discussed at
meetings about the necessity of
improving the price discovery
process. Sometimes price
discovery seems to mean
discovering always profitable
prices.
Some will say that costs are most
important because one cannot as
an individual do anything about
prices received. Of course, both
costs and income are important,
but of most importance is the
difference between costs and in
come net profits.
Least cost does not necessarily
mean most profitable. In some
cases it may not be profitable,
while profits may accrue to a flock
with higher costs. When one
discusses and or analyzes costs it
is necessary to consider quality
and services performed
One must compare costs for a
given quality and services, says
Penn State Poultry Specialist
Kermit Birth.
As one makes changes in
management practices which are
expected to reduce costs, con
sideration must be given to
possible effects on mcome.
Will a change in a method of
handling eggs which reduces labor
increase or decrease the number of
eggs with damaged shells an
mcrease in shell damage means
decreased mcome whereas a
decrease in shell damage means
more income with no change in the
price for the respective sizes and
qualities.
What unpact will a change in
ventilation have on number of eggs
produced, egg size, and shell
quality?
Sometimes one must make a
decision which may increase costs
in one phase of the business in
order to reduce costs in another
aspect of the business.
However, the reduced costs in
one phase must be greater than
increased costs in the other phase.
Increasing costs may m some
situations increase income more
than costs are increased.
There are factors under the
control of the producer which
influence the income per dozen
eggs per bird or total income.
These include size distribution,
percent of eggs with damaged
shells, total number of eggs
produced, marketing ability, and
services performed, as well as
others. The impact of the factors
affecting income for a given
producer can only be estimated
through outside research studies
or inf ormation foi other production
units.
The actual ar junt must be
determined by information ob
tained from one’s own flock, Birth
says.
Perhaps shell damage is one
area where changes in
management techniques can aid in
increasing income.
At 60 cent per dozen for grade A
large eggs and 30 cents for eggs
with damaged, stained, or dirty
shells which are included in the
crack category, each one percent
of eggs of sizes above medium
which are marked as cracked,
stained, or dirty can reduce in
come received for all eggs
marketed by as much a 0.3 cents
per dozen. Birth figures.
Decision making requires suf
ficient information to determine
why certain situations occur. How
many in the industry know how
much income was lost for each of
their flocks due to the number of
cracked, stained, and dirty eggs
produced?
On the other side of the equation,
what would it cost to make
necessary changes to reduce shell
damage and avoid a large part of
the loss of income due to shell
damage’
Does one know what effect
different ventilation systems and
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procedures for managing these
systems have on shell quality, egg
numbers, and egg size for the
various seasons of the year for
each of the houses he owns or
manages, Birth asks.
There are always more
questions than answers The an
swers must be based on the
specific situation. What may work
in one situation may not work in
another, he points out.
Dairy farmers look
to conservation tillage
HARRISBURG Benefits from
conservation tillage operations,
such as no-till and minimum
tillage, have caught the attention
of dairy farmers in Pennsylvania,
according to a USDA spokesman.
Many dairy farmers are looking
to conservation tillage program,
and its advantages.
No-till seeders, used to reseed
pastures, conserve soil and water
since the ground is always covered
with sod. Production is mam tamed
since the seeding is done in
The Diamond Stacked Layer Cage
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SERVICE AND INSTALL
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 25,1981—15
All too often changes are made in
production and marketing
programs without knowing what
the effect will be on profits. A
change may be made to reduce
electric costs without considering
or knowing what impact the
change has on income.
To meet today’s competitive
challenge one must evaluate
alternatives on the basis of their
impact on profits, not on costs or
mcome alone, Birth concludes.
existing sod in the Fall. The sod is
not plowed, disked and reseeded
with a crop of small gram as in the
past.
No-till reseeding requires one or
two trips across the field one for
seeding, another if weed control is
necessary. This is a tune saver for
the farmer.
Both no-till and chisel plowing
present an opportunity to save
time and get the crop planted more
quickly in the Spring.
Super High House Density
Means Lower Investment
Per Bird.
For producers who want the maximum house density «n new
facilities or converted buildings Diamond has developed the
Stacked Layer Cage System
This new system is available for deep pit houses and houses
with pit scrapers or flat concrete slab
Manure is deposited on rust proof
fiber glass manure chutes under each
tier of cages and removed automatically
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proven over 12 years
Eggs are collected automatically by a
special high-capacity system designed
for the Stacked System Plastic or
woven fabric belts are available
Let Diamond take you higher than
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OVER 20 YEARS.